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At end of the every year, I make a long blogpost looking back at the year's highlights or write down my goals for the new year. Thi...
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A White Christmas in Seoul, Korea
My family's Christmas Eve tradition every year is to go to my grandmother's house (On my mother's side) and count down to midnight there. The adults pretend to be Santa and hide the presents around the garden then when the clock strikes 12, all the kids run outside and start looking for Santa's presents. My mom comes from a big family but they were always in perfect attendance for Christmas Eve- her parents, 5 siblings and 22 of my cousins. It was always something I've looked forward to as long as I can remember. However, since both my grandparents have passed away, everyone has started their own new Christmas Eve Tradition. My mom's siblings usually spend it with their in-laws so my family decided for 2017, we were going to spend Christmas Eve in a different country. I've always dreamt of a White Christmas and my brother is obsessed with K-Drama. We convinced our parents that we wanted our first Christmas outside of the Philippines to be in Korea.
The weeks leading up to Christmas were chaotic. My parents both have full time jobs. My mom was busy working, fixing the household and preparing gifts. She didn't have time to make an itinerary as she would normally do for our family trips. She decided to book a tour with Rakso Travel. (This isn't a sponsored post BTW!)
Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of tours. I don't like having to follow a strict timeline. I like enjoying my time in a place. I made an exception only this time since it's Christmas time and Christmas is about giving... in.
 |
Petit France |
Day One: Petit France, Nami Island and Sheep Feeding
On our first day, it SNOWED! Our flight into Korea was supposed to be at 4 pm but we couldn't leave Manila because there was zero visibility in Korea meaning our plane wouldn't be able to land. We were waiting in the airport from 11 am to 7 pm. We only got to depart at 8 pm and arrived in Korea past midnight. By the time we checked-in, it was close at 2 am already. We had no time to sleep. We could only nap because our call time for the tour was at 6:30 am. We were all exhausted but we had to power through because we had so many activities lined up for that day.
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| Nami Island |
 |
| Our first meal: KBBQ of course! |
 |
| Sheep Feeding |
 |
| It originally wasn't part of our plan but they taught us how to make ice cream as a gift since we had such a long day |
Day Two: Skiing at Jisan Forest Resort
It was my family's very first time to ski. I was excited at first. We stopped by a store to pick out our skiing outfits. I chose a plaid brown jacket with pink pants. Then we headed to the resort. We had no idea that it was such a long process. As soon as we arrived at the resort, we had to line up pick up our skis, boots, and poles. Nope, it wasn't one line for all three. We had to line up thrice--- one for each equipment! Then finally, around two hours later, it was time to ski. Our tour guide ran through the basic positions. How to go faster, how to stop, and how to fall without hurting yourself, etc. It looked simple but truth be told, it was so stressful. When you fall, it takes a while to get back up since you're wearing ski boots which are extremely heavy. I gave up after an hour of trying. I decided to stick to what I was good at--- just take photos!
Day Three: Everland Theme Park
I loved everything about Everland--- there was so many things to do. You can visit the zoo, go on the rides, and eat in all the restaurants. Unfortunately, it was a whopping -22 degrees that day. We were all freezing which made it difficult to move around. We kept stopping by the heaters to warm up but I'm definitely going back here on a warm day in the future.
 |
| It's a panda! |
Day Four: Ginseng Factory Tour and Cafe Hopping
Korea is known for producing Ginseng, a highly sought after root crop with many health benefits. It's proven to increase strength, reduce inflammation, boost immune system, lower blood sugar and even reduce cancer. I had no idea that a root crop could be that expensive. The price ranges from $500 to $600 per pound. Afterwards, we were supposed to watch a play with the tour group but we decided to skip and just tour around the city to cafe hop on our last night.
 |
| Ginseng Factory |
 |
| My brother can definitely pass off as a Korean |
 |
| Made a stop at Dongdaedum Night Market before heading back to the hotel |
In Korea, women and men dress up in a traditional handbook. It's usually worn for festivals, important occasions like weddings, and the royal family would wear it for ceremonies. I was wrapped up in six layers of clothing. I didn't feel like changing out of my clothes anymore but my family was game to do it.
 |
| My parents look so cute |
 |
| View from 236 M high |
 |
| The prettiest bathroom that I've ever seen in my life |
Five days weren't enough. There's still so much of Seoul to see. I can't wait to go back.
My family's Christmas Eve tradition every year is to go to my grandmother's house (On my mother's side) and count down to midnight there. The adults pretend to be Santa and hide the presents around the garden then when the clock strikes 12, all the kids run outside and start looking for Santa's presents. My mom comes from a big family but they were always in perfect attendance for Christmas Eve- her parents, 5 siblings and 22 of my cousins. It was always something I've looked forward to as long as I can remember. However, since both my grandparents have passed away, everyone has started their own new Christmas Eve Tradition. My mom's siblings usually spend it with their in-laws so my family decided for 2017, we were going to spend Christmas Eve in a different country. I've always dreamt of a White Christmas and my brother is obsessed with K-Drama. We convinced our parents that we wanted our first Christmas outside of the Philippines to be in Korea.
The weeks leading up to Christmas were chaotic. My parents both have full time jobs. My mom was busy working, fixing the household and preparing gifts. She didn't have time to make an itinerary as she would normally do for our family trips. She decided to book a tour with Rakso Travel. (This isn't a sponsored post BTW!)
Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of tours. I don't like having to follow a strict timeline. I like enjoying my time in a place. I made an exception only this time since it's Christmas time and Christmas is about giving... in.
|
| Petit France |
Day One: Petit France, Nami Island and Sheep Feeding
On our first day, it SNOWED! Our flight into Korea was supposed to be at 4 pm but we couldn't leave Manila because there was zero visibility in Korea meaning our plane wouldn't be able to land. We were waiting in the airport from 11 am to 7 pm. We only got to depart at 8 pm and arrived in Korea past midnight. By the time we checked-in, it was close at 2 am already. We had no time to sleep. We could only nap because our call time for the tour was at 6:30 am. We were all exhausted but we had to power through because we had so many activities lined up for that day.
|
| Nami Island |
|
| Our first meal: KBBQ of course! |
|
| Sheep Feeding |
|
| It originally wasn't part of our plan but they taught us how to make ice cream as a gift since we had such a long day |
Day Two: Skiing at Jisan Forest Resort
It was my family's very first time to ski. I was excited at first. We stopped by a store to pick out our skiing outfits. I chose a plaid brown jacket with pink pants. Then we headed to the resort. We had no idea that it was such a long process. As soon as we arrived at the resort, we had to line up pick up our skis, boots, and poles. Nope, it wasn't one line for all three. We had to line up thrice--- one for each equipment! Then finally, around two hours later, it was time to ski. Our tour guide ran through the basic positions. How to go faster, how to stop, and how to fall without hurting yourself, etc. It looked simple but truth be told, it was so stressful. When you fall, it takes a while to get back up since you're wearing ski boots which are extremely heavy. I gave up after an hour of trying. I decided to stick to what I was good at--- just take photos!
Day Three: Everland Theme Park
I loved everything about Everland--- there was so many things to do. You can visit the zoo, go on the rides, and eat in all the restaurants. Unfortunately, it was a whopping -22 degrees that day. We were all freezing which made it difficult to move around. We kept stopping by the heaters to warm up but I'm definitely going back here on a warm day in the future.
|
| It's a panda! |
Day Four: Ginseng Factory Tour and Cafe Hopping
Korea is known for producing Ginseng, a highly sought after root crop with many health benefits. It's proven to increase strength, reduce inflammation, boost immune system, lower blood sugar and even reduce cancer. I had no idea that a root crop could be that expensive. The price ranges from $500 to $600 per pound. Afterwards, we were supposed to watch a play with the tour group but we decided to skip and just tour around the city to cafe hop on our last night.
|
| Ginseng Factory |
|
| My brother can definitely pass off as a Korean |
|
| Made a stop at Dongdaedum Night Market before heading back to the hotel |
In Korea, women and men dress up in a traditional handbook. It's usually worn for festivals, important occasions like weddings, and the royal family would wear it for ceremonies. I was wrapped up in six layers of clothing. I didn't feel like changing out of my clothes anymore but my family was game to do it.
|
| My parents look so cute |
|
| View from 236 M high |
|
| The prettiest bathroom that I've ever seen in my life |
Five days weren't enough. There's still so much of Seoul to see. I can't wait to go back.
My 9-Day Itinerary in Melbourne
I originally had no plans of sharing my Melbourne itinerary but one of my friends is heading there this month and she made a special request so here it is.
As you can already notice from my itinerary, I made sure to put a brunch spot almost everyday because Melbourne is the brunch capital of the world and their coffee is no doubt THE BEST. (I wrote about it in my previous entry found here.) We didn't do so many touristy things since the purpose of my visit was just to catch up with three of my friends who were based in Australia. We spent most of our time talking over meals, movie marathons every night, and stopping in every cute shop we saw. The only touristy thing we did was book a tour in the Great Ocean Road. My favorite activity among everything we did was the Yarra Valley Wine Tour because I love my wine.
Melbourne is a very laid back city. It's so easy to lose track of time because you're just enjoying relaxing. It's also a very young city so it's ideal for those who are between their 20s to 30s. I think it's more for solo travellers or a group of friends rather than families. For families, I would suggest Gold Coast because it's near the beach. While for those more adventurous and prefer to be out and about everyday with a jam pack itinerary, I would suggest Sydney. You'll never run out of things to do there because there's so much to see.
 |
| Mandee and I |
I think nine days in Melbourne was just right. It was enough time to do everything I planned but still not enough time with my friends whom I miss so much. This is the last of my Melbourne series. Next up will be Korea!
 |
| Shrine of Remembrance |
 |
| Prahan Market |
 |
| Botanical Garden |
 |
| Ponyfish Island |
 |
| St. Kilda Pier |
 |
| Brighton Beach |
 |
| St. Paul's Cathedral |
 |
| National Gallery of Victoria |
I originally had no plans of sharing my Melbourne itinerary but one of my friends is heading there this month and she made a special request so here it is.
As you can already notice from my itinerary, I made sure to put a brunch spot almost everyday because Melbourne is the brunch capital of the world and their coffee is no doubt THE BEST. (I wrote about it in my previous entry found here.) We didn't do so many touristy things since the purpose of my visit was just to catch up with three of my friends who were based in Australia. We spent most of our time talking over meals, movie marathons every night, and stopping in every cute shop we saw. The only touristy thing we did was book a tour in the Great Ocean Road. My favorite activity among everything we did was the Yarra Valley Wine Tour because I love my wine.
Melbourne is a very laid back city. It's so easy to lose track of time because you're just enjoying relaxing. It's also a very young city so it's ideal for those who are between their 20s to 30s. I think it's more for solo travellers or a group of friends rather than families. For families, I would suggest Gold Coast because it's near the beach. While for those more adventurous and prefer to be out and about everyday with a jam pack itinerary, I would suggest Sydney. You'll never run out of things to do there because there's so much to see.
|
| Mandee and I |
I think nine days in Melbourne was just right. It was enough time to do everything I planned but still not enough time with my friends whom I miss so much. This is the last of my Melbourne series. Next up will be Korea!
|
| Shrine of Remembrance |
|
| Prahan Market |
|
| Botanical Garden |
|
| Ponyfish Island |
|
| St. Kilda Pier |
|
| Brighton Beach |
|
| St. Paul's Cathedral |
|
| National Gallery of Victoria |
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